A woman kills herself, her husband and their small son. What has led her to poison their dinner? They are a well-off Parisian family with a successful husband and lovely kid living in a beautiful apartment. What people cannot see is the inside, the inside of the family home and especially the inside of Marie who has been struggling for years to keep her secret well shut behind a friendly facade: she was raped by her CEO after work one evening and is convinced that Thomas is the result of the assault and not her husband’s son. Every day, she has to look in the eye of the small boy and is confronted again with what happened and what she cannot share with anybody. It is not the tragic story of a family, but the heart-breaking story of a woman not just suffering once from the humiliation and attack, but suffering every single day of her life.

Inès Bayard’s novel is one of the most moving and highly disturbing books I have ever read. She starts with the final step of Marie’s desolate and lonely voyage, no surprise where it all will end up, but the way there could hardly be more painful, more emotionally challenging and nevertheless easy to understand and follow.

Marie feels ashamed for what has happened to her, for her body after giving birth, for her behaviour towards her husband. She does not see herself as the victim she is, immediately, after the assault, she has taken the decision to comply with her assailant’s threat not to tell anybody and thinks she now has to stick to it. Her mental state is gradually deteriorating and Bayard meticulously narrates the downwards spiral. Looking at her from the outside, you can see that she is trapped in an unhealthy mental state that she has established and which is completely wrong but yet, it is so understandable how she comes to those conclusions and this almost paranoid view of her situation.

She does not get help or support, nobody even seems to notice her suffering, only when the signs become too obvious is suspicion raised. There might have been ways out of her depression and misery, but she cannot take these roads and thus needs to face her ultimate fate which does not entail living an option.

Without any doubt, Marie is a victim in several respects. But so is her son Thomas and he is the poor boy without any chance to escape or change his fate, he is exposed helplessly to his mother’s hatred which seems unfair, but I think it is not difficult to understand what she sees in him. Is her husband Laurent to blame? Hard to say, the same accounts for Marie’s mother who didn’t do anything other than just cover the traces of her daughter’s state when she becomes aware of it, she does not offer help when it was most needed.

The novel is a wonderful example for what such an event can do to people, how they struggle to survive and hide what has happened. It is deeply moving and frightening to observe which is also due to the author’s style of writing.

The story is brutal and the telling is very graphic which certainly for the most part I could understand. However it was relentless and the details took over the plot and everything was lost in the awfulness of it.
Not for the faint hearted that’s for sure. I almost gave up but glad I carried on as it is probably on the whole a book worth reading.

From page 1 you will be well and truly hooked .
Laurent and Marie seemingly have it all -successful careers -lovely apartment in Paris -great social life they are happy and in love ..
With everything so perfect -they decide to start trying for a baby. Then one night tragedy strikes and their whole world unravels in the most devastating way.
The writing is fantastic -I couldn't put it down and I cannot recommend highly enough

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an advanced copy.

Harrowing take of how life can change in an instant. It goes to show that no matter how close you are as a family someone can still feel that they,are on their own. One simple mismanagement of character has serious consequences for the family. Well written novel........would like to know what happens next does,anyone get justice.?

Many thanks for letting me read this novel and will be looking out for more from this author.

My heart broke for this little family, for each one of them in many different ways. I flew through this book, reading it in a day. It’s different from other books as you already know what is coming but you carry on anyway unable to stop the inevitable. I so wish that things could have been different for the 3 of them.
This book portrays an awful side of life, people’s views and their decisions and how they can impact someone else so drastically. It shows how even when surrounded by people, someone can feel incredibly alone. That we should always take a closer look at those we care about and ask the questions that need to be asked, however hard those may be.

Quite simply I loved this book! This Little Family is a stunning debut. It’s harrowing, disturbing, thrilling but ultimately it is impossible to put down. I found the writing style to be quite unique at first but I quickly got into it and found I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I’m still thinking about this book now and I’m eager to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and the author for the chance to review.

This is a very powerful book that starts with the very graphic depiction of the main character Marie's rape. The story continues with marie becoming pregnant after this and her assumption that the baby is the product of the rape.
Her life goes from very successful and happy to slowly collapsing around her.
She doesn't tell anyone about the rape she is frightened of losing her job and Her family of bringing shame on herself and is left dealing with her trauma alone.
The book is set in Paris written by a French author and I found it told me a lot about that culture of fitting, in having the perfect family life and looking perfect as as woman. Marie hates her body after the birth of the baby, she neglects her body and does not diet or clean herself it's a depiction of her hating her body after the rape but I think it seems unacceptable for her to do this in her culture. She must be an attractive sexual woman and the rape takes this from her. I found this French aspect of the book really interesting and wonder if a British book would focus in this way when dealing with the trauma of rape and birth after rape.
Very compelling but extremely graphic.

“No one ever really knows what goes on within a couple. The tensions, emotions, infidelities, their relationships with their child – all things that are camouflaged, prettified, wrapped up in a sweet sugary coating to hide the bitterness deep in the heart of the whole setup".

Shocking, provocative, graphic, dark and depressing are but a few words I can use to describe this debut novel from French author, Inès Bayard. This Is an incredibly powerful book which deals with the brutal rape of a young woman and the life changing ramifications of this most extreme violation. Marie and Laurent are newly married, living in a Paris apartment and hoping to start a family. One evening after work, Marie is brutally raped by the CEO of the bank where she works. The rape is described in the most graphic of details. I’ll be honest, it is stomach churning to read and is told in a brutal, factual manner. Some readers may find this just too distressing. Marie’s emotional life disintegrates as she struggles to live with the shame & dishonour she feels. She doesn’t tell her husband about the rape and when she becomes pregnant, is convinced the child is a progeny of the rape. She describes the pregnancy “as a black shadow evolving in her womb”. Throughout the novel, there are incidents where people suspect that something is not right with Marie, but fail to speak out and ask questions, such as her mother, sister and gynaecologist. However, they all act in silence and it is the consequences of this damming silence which leads to the disturbing death of Marie and her child. At the end, Marie just cannot continue living and longs to be somewhere “far from excruciating reality” where she can finally go to sleep and end the sheer nightmare of existing.

There are many similarities with “Lullaby” by Leila Slimani both in the construct of the novel and the very direct, unemotional language used to describe an obscene crime.

If you read one book this year, I recommend this to you. Just be prepared for a very tough read. A 5 * read for me.

Thank you to @netgalley, @4thestatebooks and @wmcollinsbooks for this ARC which I was given in return for my very honest review. Thank you also to Inès Bayard for a remarkable debut novel.

I have mixed feelings about this book. One one hand I was tempted to walk away within the first few chapters as it details a rape. The description was graphic and extremely unsettling. However I had to know what would happen to Marie and how she would manage, who she would tell and how the situation would be resolved.

I have really enjoyed this book with its very honest unraveling of the main character as a result of living with the traumatic aftermath of the rape whilst trying to manage to continue with her life afterwards.

It’s grim reading and yet compelling. It’s really well written and I was hugely invested in Marie and her life.
Well done
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

Based on the cover and synopsis, I expected this to be a somewhat different book. Not for the faint-hearted, it is graphic, shocking and vulgar. It does tell an excellent story of trauma, desperation and society, and the translation is well done.

I gave it a lower rating as despite all of these things, the author was so focused on shock value that the story fell by the wayside. After the initial graphic rape scene, the author is fixated on reminding you about the main character's battered vagina throughout. I read it and I think I enjoyed it overall, but it's not one I'd recommend.

This Little Family is talented French writer Ines Bayard’s debut novel, and whilst both the title and cover art don’t illustrate quite how different this domestic thriller is from the usual genre fare the synopsis does a great job in doing differentiating it. It is undoubtedly one of the best, most accomplished and highly thought-provoking literary thrillers of the past few years. A word of warning, however; this is a profoundly dark, harrowing and haunting read that should be avoided by faint-hearted readers. That said, I feel it will make one consider things differently as the narrative unfolds and as it twists and warps in several directions it poses many interesting questions to readers. As it moves along we are pushed to consider that even those incidents that appear to be easy to categorise as terrible may have underlying causes that may take the idea of a black and white morally good/bad decision into the grey area.

It's a heartbreakingly emotional exploration of abuse, trauma and the unknowns that can be perpetrated behind closed doors and away from view as well as the legacy these experiences can have going forward. This is at once a tough yet compulsively readable thriller with deft touch and acute observations. A brutal, disturbing and shocking story, this is one read I will NEVER forget. It successfully burrows underneath your skin and messes spectacularly with your psyche and for that, I cannot praise it enough. A true tale of horror and unspeakable violence which manages to show the terror and despair felt by those who are caught between a rock and a hard place feeling as though they have no alternative way out.

Also, a note of recognition goes to translator Adriana Hunter as often books written originally in a foreign language and later translated into English can many times have their success depend on the accuracy of the person appointed. Kudos as this was excellent in this case and I didn't feel anything major was lost. Highly recommended. Many thanks to 4th Estate for an ARC.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and girlie books therefore am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The stewed apples are still sitting on the table but this little family is no longer there to eat them. Death has claimed them all. Maybe it was the mother who did it. The newspapers will say it is so. But maybe it is society that is to blame instead, for driving her so far to the edge that the only escape left was to jump off. Once and for all.

This is by far the darkest, most disturbing, and most harrowing story I have ever read. The book opened with a scene depicting the above events in a horror of minute detail. This almost confrontational narrative style continued throughout. Nothing was spared the reader - not the rawness of emotion, not the almost vulgar use of wording, and certainly not the evil that humans are capable of inflicting upon one another.

Whilst this was certainly a very difficult and traumatic reading experience, I can only applaud Bayard for making it so. This will not be a story for everyone, but those who are able to traverse their way through the horrors detailed are rewarded to an insight about the flawed society we reside in and a subtle undertone of how we can do better, ourselves.

This was reminiscent of Leila Slimani's Lullaby, in the tragic opening and concluding scenes that bookended the history of one woman's life and all that was inflicted upon her. Both are stories of unimaginable violence, but also reveal, through these horrific events, the true horror that resides in the society that housed these women.

found this to be a harrowing violent read . while i had empathy for the victim in the story i just didnt like her at all .

A dark dark story’ a book I could not put down .So well written so emotional at times tough to read but you can’t stop.Literary fiction that will leave you in shock.Hiighly recommend.#netgalley#4thestate

Mixed emotions on this book Enjoyable storyline but heartbreaking as well. Very emotional book not for the faint hearted

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Heartbreaking portrait of a woman’s inner life going through the world in a woman’s body

Ooh, this was not an enjoyable read, and I know it wasn't meant to be. But as hard and harsh and stark as the story and writing is, it also doesn't allow any empathy or even is particularly well written so as to provide any relief to the reader. This is not a case of an admirable hard read of the realities of a victim of abuse, it is a blunt instrument without any finesse.

I really enjoyed this book! A great story line that kept me hooked and excellent main characters. I would highly recommend this book.